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The Nashville Predators general manager is always nervous when he makes a trade. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Trades are gambles. And over the years, perhaps no GM has gambled more than Poile.

Three years after drafting Seth Jones fourth overall, Poile sent the young defenceman to Columbus for Ryan Johansen. He traded Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg before the latter had even played a game in North America. He packaged Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling for James Neal.

But trading Shea Weber was different.

Weber had been the Predators' captain and beloved bearded face of the franchise. He defined Nashville’s defensive identity, leading the team to eight playoff appearances in 11 years. As Poile said, “there was no downside to how Weber conducted himself on and off the ice.”

“P.K. is different," he says. "My favourite expression is (Subban) gets a lot of touches every day. Everything that happens is a story about P.K. He just can’t help himself. So was I nervous? I’m nervous about every trade I make. But this one was huge.”

Almost a year later, the gamble is paying off.

The Predators are in the conference final for the first time in their 19-year history and Subban has been a big part of their success. He might not be the best player on the team or even the best defenceman, but the same guy who was run out of Montreal because of a supposed me-first attitude has surprised critics with his team-first approach.

Heading into Game 4 of the Western Conference final against the Anaheim Ducks, Subban was ranked third amongst Nashville defencemen with one goal and seven assists in 13 games. But it’s not about points or playing the hero. Like Weber, who was a rock for the Predators, Subban has accepted a shutdown role that has shined a light on his defensive play.

Predators head coach Peter Laviolette called Subban “a really good 200-foot, two-way player for us”, whose attention to detail in the defensive end has been “on the money.” Ryan Ellis, who said Subban’s first goal as a Predator featured “a really big celly,” described his teammate as “responsible.”

Those aren’t words Subban had been hearing in Montreal, where he was portrayed as a riverboat gambler who was more concerned with padding his own stats and building his personal brand than winning a championship. It wasn’t true. But that was the image that made Poile nervous.

Before pulling the trigger on the blockbuster deal, Poile did his due diligence, talking to everyone from hockey scouts to marketing managers to determine what effect Subban would have on the Predators, both on and off the ice. Poile considered Subban’s personal brand and charitable work a positive, especially in a city like Nashville, where hockey isn’t necessarily the No. 1 sport.

Poile didn’t want to change Subban. But after making the trade, he made sure they were on the same page.

“The first meeting I just told him, ‘I’m the general manager of the team and my goal is to win a Stanley Cup,’” said Poile, who then asked Subban for his goals.

The answer: to win a Stanley Cup.

And then Poile said, "As far as all the other things you’re doing — because my opinion, and it’s my opinion, is that it affected your relationship with Montreal and possibly was one of the reasons why you were traded — we’ll support you in anything and everything you’re doing, just as long as we know what you’re doing. So the left hand will know what the right hand is doing and we’ll walk together. Just as long as hockey is your No. 1 focus.”

So far, the Predators have not had any issues with Subban. Neither has Subban had issues with Nashville. He was an instant hit in the city, whether it was singing at the honky-tonk bar Tootsies or pumping up the crowd at a Tennessee Titans football game. NBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury might have called Subban a “clown” for dancing around during the pre-game warm-up, but he hasn’t become a distraction. If anything, he’s bought in to what the team is selling.

“I don't know if that has to do with the weather in Nashville or not, but we're really enjoying being a part of this post-season for sure,” said Subban. “We all love each other in that dressing room. I think it's just the culture. It's the culture of the organization. And like I said, the city's really embraced this team and hockey. And makes it fun for us to come back home.”

Subban had 10 goals and 40 points in 66 games this season, but it wasn’t an easy first year for him. He missed time because of injury and struggled to find what he called “his niche” on the team. It wasn’t until later in the year, when Subban found chemistry with Mattias Ekholm as part of Nashville’s shutdown pairing, that he started to make a bigger impact.

“I said to myself at the time — and I still believe it — I thought this trade is going to be better a year from now for us than it would be for this year,” said Poile, referencing the ages of Weber (31) and Subban (28).

That seemed to be the case in early January, when the Predators had lost six of eight games and were looking at possibly missing the playoffs. They won nine of their last 15 games, entering the post-season as the No. 8 seed.

“Nothing was gelling at all,” Poile said of the early-season struggles. “It wasn’t until the latter part of the season, maybe the last 20 or so games, when we and he got it together and started to play on a more consistent basis, And now, here we are in the playoffs and we’re seeing the best of P.K. on a night-in and night-out basis.”

Now, with the team on the doorstep of the Stanley Cup final, the spotlight is shining on Subban and Nashville. And as Poile said, there’s more than enough of that spotlight to go around.

“When players think they are bigger than the team or don’t listen to the coach, things go awry,” said Poile. “Right now we have everybody buying in. P.K. is a terrific hockey player. I think he’s a real good person. The P.K. brand, which in some circles could be viewed as a negative, in Nashville it’s all good.”

'P.K. LOVES TO SCORE'

Energy was the first word that came to mind when Ryan Ellis was asked about what P.K. Subban has brought to the Nashville Predators this season.

It’s contagious. And it was noticeable from the moment he stepped on the ice in his bright yellow jersey.

Ellis still remembers how Subban blasted a slap shot for a tying goal in his first game with the Predators, then celebrated by waving his arm around in the air like a lasso before kicking his leg and pumping his fist to fire up the home crowd.

“P.K. loves to score,” Ellis said of Subban. “If you look at his first goal as a Predator, it was a big celly. He plays with a lot of that energy and has that personality. Personally, you don’t see that much of a difference in terms of his energy level (during the playoffs), but his play has definitely elevated, that’s for sure.”

While Subban is easily the most energetic player on the Predators, he is also one of the more experienced, having previously reached the conference final round with the Montreal Canadiens. At times, he’s helped calmed his teammates down just as much as he has pumped them up.

“It’s great to have a guy that’s been there and done that kind of stuff and been in these situations before,” Ellis said. “P.K.’s a guy with that experience. It obviously helps. It keeps the room even-keel through the ups and downs of the playoffs.”

Predators GM Poile gambled and won with P.K. Subban

The Nashville Predators general manager is always nervous when he makes a trade. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Trades are gambles. And over the years, perhaps no GM has gambled more than Poile.

Three years after drafting Seth Jones fourth overall, Poile sent the young defenceman to Columbus for Ryan Johansen. He traded Martin Erat for Filip Forsberg before the latter had even played a game in North America. He packaged Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling for James Neal.

But trading Shea Weber was different.

Weber had been the Predators' captain and beloved bearded face of the franchise. He defined Nashville’s defensive identity, leading the team to eight playoff appearances in 11 years. As Poile said, “there was no downside to how Weber conducted himself on and off the ice.”